Kid me Not

Airline didn’t pay dividends before as it wanted to build up cash

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd is now in a much better position to consider paying dividends to its shareholders after solving some issues within the group, said group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“Shareholders did ask about dividend payment at the meeting just now.

“Having solved the uncertainty issues, we are now at the stage where the board will actively consider dividend payment,” he said yesterday after AirAsia’s AGM.

However, he did not explain further the uncertainty issues.

Fernandes did not say when dividend payment might happen but added that the group had made the right decision of not paying dividends up to this point because it wanted to build up its cash.

“We want to build up our cash as we want to grow the airline to be far bigger than any other competitor,” he said.


AirAsia does not have a dividend policy since it was listed in 2004 and if the payout happened, this would be the first time shareholders are receiving dividends.

He added that the group’s cash balance was approaching RM1bil and its business should grow from strength to strength from now on.

For that, he believed AirAsia’s net gearing would continue to go down from the current 2.26 times.

Fernandes also said the airline would fly to the Maldives in October and planned to build a hotel there.

PM: First stage of NEM out on March 30

Eddy said: Let's wait and see.




By MAZWIN NIK ANIS
mazwin@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: The first stage of the highly-anticipated New Economic Model (NEM) will be unveiled on March 30, quashing speculation that there is a delay in its launch.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said announcements on the matter would be made in two stages, with the second stage to be revealed during the tabling of the 10th Malaysia Plan.

“We want to engage all stakeholders,” he told reporters after meeting with members of the Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) yesterday.

Asked on concerns raised by certain quarters over the NEM, particularly over bumiputra issues, Najib declined to comment, saying that it was too early for him to elaborate on the matter.

“I don’t want to jump the gun. I don’t want to address the New Economic Model. Otherwise I will be speaking prematurely and letting the cat out of the bag,” he said.

The Malay Consultative Council recently expressed its concern and urged the Government to ensure the proposed NEM was within the framework of Article 153 of the Constitution in preserving the rights of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

On another matter, the Prime

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Minister said the Cabinet had given the green light to the International Trade and Industry Ministry to study the possibility of Malaysia entering the US-initiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), adding that the ministry had embarked on a deep and comprehensive study to look into the matter.

“The Cabinet will make its decision if the study by MITI shows that (TPP) benefits Malaysia,” he said.

Najib said the United States had informed the Government that it had put plans for a Free Trade Agreement on the backburner, adding that the current administration was more keen to work on multilateral trade initiatives.

The current TPP members are Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, and Brunei. The members are also part of the much larger 21-member economies under Apec.

Najib said the Government would not take too much time to decide whether it would want to be part of TPP, adding that he might be able to give some indication on the matter to US President Barack Obama if “a bilateral meeting is on the cards” when he visits the US next month.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to attend the World Nuclear Conference to be held in Washington on April 12 and 13.

Asked if this was an indication that he would be going to the White House, the Prime Minister declined to confirm, adding that 45 leaders were expected to attend and “if there is one (bilateral meeting), it will be held in the margin.”

Case study on Najibnomics

Eddy said: Freakonomics? Hell no, it's something else.



KUALA LUMPUR - THE Harvard Business School in Boston will undertake a case study on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak?s courageous and bold initiatives to tackle the financial crisis.

The case study, to be used as a subject in the core curriculum of the macro-economic module, will be a capstone on how crisis is transmitted internationally.

It will also discuss how a country that has sound fundamentals and good regulations could withstand an international crisis.

The country is known for consolidating the banking, insurance and financial institutions following the 1998 currency crisis, said the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia in a statement yesterday.

Besides highlighting Najib?s bold economic reforms, the Harvard study would also focus on the various economic liberalisation moves, measures taken to prepare the country for the Asean Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organisation negotiations, said alumni president Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam.

'Harvard will also bring to attention how the country positions itself on free trade agreements with other countries and how its economic zones are poised for further foreign direct investment attractions.

'We in the alumni are proud to be associated with such a work as the study will become part of the syllabus programme and will be taught to thousands of international students.

'Moreover, students at Harvard will hear about what the Government and Bank Negara Malaysia have done since the 1998 crisis to regulate and stabilise the economy,' said Mr Gnanalingam.

The previous case study on Malaysia published in April 2002, 'Malaysia ? Capital and Control' written by Rawi Abdelai and Laura Alfaro, has been one of Harvard?s most successful case studies.

It analysed the political economy of capital controls in Malaysia during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.

It has been taught in every class for the last seven years not only to Harvard Business School students taking a masters degree in business administration but also to senior managers who attended executive programmes. -- THE STAR/ANN

CIMB Group maintains IT spend at RM350mil

Eddy said: Good move. That's what a market at current condition need. Indeed, competitve advantages don't come easily.


PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group will maintain its information technology (IT) spending at RM350mil in Malaysia this year, says group information and operations head Iswaraan Suppiah.

He said continued IT spending was important in ensuring that the group provided good service to its customers as customer experience was something that should not be compromised even in hard times.

“The majority of the spending would be for IT system maintenance-related services and licensing cost for the systems,” he told a press conference yesterday after the inking of an agreement with Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn Bhd (HP Malaysia).

Iswaraan added that the banking group spent a similar amount for IT annually.


The partnership agreement with HP Malaysia was for the roll-out of HP’s Thin Client technology across CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic Bank branches nationwide.

The environment-friendly Thin Client is a computing solution that functions as an access point to a centralised processing and storage unit (server).

The technology would help lower energy consumption by an average of 80% compared with traditional desktop solutions, thus reducing greenhouse gas emission.

Iswaraan said the company would spend RM30mil for this solution over five years and this would help save up to RM40mil in maintenance-related expenses and energy consumption over the same period.

“We are phasing out the deployment of this solution and we aim to deploy it to all our branches by year-end from the current two branches,” he said, adding that the bank currently had about 360 branches nationwide.

He said the new solution would help CIMB serve its customers better as the computers would be faster, more secure and reliable and cut down the waiting time significantly.

How long should investors hold their stock investments?

Eddy said: One of the obvious issues when using historical data to convince me about the investment success story is whether the historical data involves survivorship bias and other cherry picking tricks. Also, a thought provoking question is whether the idea of long term investment can be reliably associated with investment success.
Borrowing some ideas from VaR analysis, the longer you hold a particular security or portfolio, the likely the chance you will exceed the VaR limit as the worst loss.
Yes, longer investment time horizon can smoothen cyclical, seasonal and unexpected effects to achieve expected return. The problem with the statement just now is whether you are able to define the expected return. Take an example, you expect an unrealistic 15% annual compounded return for an investment time frame of 20 years and at the end of the period you being disappointed by the fact that the actual return was just 10% annually and you might start to shout about the misleading idea of long term investment. The truth is you already made a major mistake by having a distorted profit expectation biased by certain factors, such as short term supply and demand effect or macroeconomy illusions.

OFTEN we hear some financial experts say we need to hold stocks long term, especially during the weak stock market situation like what we are experiencing currently.

Some gurus say the “buy and hold” strategy is the best investment strategy. However, some retail investors may argue that “buy and hold” is not suitable in Malaysia because if they pick the wrong stocks, some companies might even get delisted after a while.

The question of how long to hold has always been on the mind of investors when they purchase any stocks. Given the present weak economic and stock market conditions, some investors may lose patience as they do not know when the market will recover again.

In this article, we will look at the number of years that we need to hold our stock investments in Malaysia. We use the KL Composite Index average daily indices to compute the stock returns.

The following data was provided by Dynaquest Sdn Bhd. With its permission, we will provide the historical rolling annual compounded returns from 1970 to 2008.

The table shows the rolling historical annual compounded returns for holding the stocks for one, three, five, seven and 10 years.


Click here to view the table.

It shows the average annual compounded returns and risks (measured by standard deviation) regardless of any starting or ending dates.

For example, the 25% returns in the second row and the second column of the table was the annual compounded returns of investing for one year from 1970 to 1971. The three-year returns of 56.7% was what you would’ve got if you started your investment in 1970 and ended in 1973.

If you started investing in 1970 and held it for five years (up to 1975), seven years (up to 1977) and 10 years (up to 1980), your annual compounded returns will be 16%, 14% and 21.8% respectively.

In terms of the overall average returns, except for one-year and three-year holding periods of 13.4% and 9.8% respectively, we notice that the annual compounded returns for five-year, seven-year and 10-year holding periods were almost the same, about 8% per annum.

However, the longer we hold our investment, the lower the risks that we face, which are measured by using standard deviations.

For example, if we hold our investment for one year, the standard deviation is 30.8%.


However, if we hold it a bit longer to three, five and seven years, the standard deviation will drop to 16.8%, 11.4% and 8.6% respectively.

For 10-year holding, the standard deviation is 6.6%. Based on two standard deviations, we are 95% confident that our returns will range from -5.1% (8.1% - 2 x 6.6%) to 21.3% (8.1% + 2 x 6.6%).

This is supported by the minimum returns of -2% and the maximum return of 23.6% for 10-year holding periods.

In conclusion, we need to hold stocks long term. We may not need to hold them up to 10 years.

However, we need to understand that we will face very high volatility on returns if we invest only for one year.

Besides, we need to make sure that we are buying good fundamental stocks in order to avoid poor quality stocks that are not suitable for long-term investment.


Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting. We welcome readers’ feedback. Please e-mail to starbiz@thestar.com.my

Integrated Asean capital market plan

Eddy said: Imagine 4 easily crackable pillars used to build a house, you think it will makes the house better resistance to disaster? Each of the exchanges got their own problems which I think currently remain unresolved or unidentified and how could they even propose to integrate them. The integration shall makes them even more vulnerable. Mate, think harder.



KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Indonesia Stock Exchange, Philippine Stock Exchange Inc, Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday signed a preliminary agreement to set up an Asean electronic trading link to enhance the competitiveness of their capital markets.

In a statement, Bursa said the e-trading link, through a single access point, allowed intra-Asean cross border trading and would attract more international funds into the region.

According to Bursa chief executive officer Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, an integrated Asean capital market will raise the profile of this region’s securities to the global investment community.

SET president Patareeya Benjapolchai said the linkage was open to other Asean bourses besides the five that signed the memorandum of understanding.

“We are now in the process of evaluating a technology platform and scheduling the implementation among the exchanges. The e-trading link is expected to go live next year,” she added.

Singapore Exchange chief executive officer Hsieh Fu Hua said the five exchanges would work towards establishing their clearing houses as central counterparties to facilitate the clearing and settlement of cross-border trades.

“Brokers will benefit from building on their relationships with their home clearing houses and need not take on foreign counterparty risks,” he said.

Patareeya said the partnerships would be “a win-win solution for all” including the listed companies, investors and market participants.

Allergic babies

By Dr M. YADAV


Allergy is becoming an increasingly prevalent problem in many countries, especially among our young.

ALLERGIC diseases represent a major and increasing health problem in industrialised countries. Over the past five decades, the prevalence of allergic diseases has increased dramatically and the incidence has doubled in the last 20 years in most industrialised countries.

In some countries, for example Australia and Sweden, 40% of young children have allergic disorders.

In Malaysia, about 30% of young children are likely to develop allergic disorders in the first five years of life.

The most common allergic conditions in children and infants are food allergies, eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis. Allergies are often life-long and although treatable, they tend to recur if the triggers are not strictly avoided. Some food allergies spontaneously improve within three years but are often replaced by respiratory allergies. Thus, it makes sense to try to prevent the development of allergies in early life than trying to treat them later.

Hence, there is great interest to identify the risk factors associated with the development of allergic disorders in early life and modify them to reduce subsequent risks for development of allergy.


Many studies show that breast milk decreases the incidence of allergic eczema compared to cow’s milk.

Risk factors for allergy

The development and appearance of allergic symptoms depends on poorly-understood complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors.

It is evident historically that changing environmental factors have played a major role for the increasing trends in allergy and asthma. Obviously, we have some control over the environmental risk factors but we have practically no control over genetic factors, which have an equal role in the development of allergic disorders.

Families often ask how allergy can be prevented in future offspring. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a clinical report in 2008 with recommendations for those infants at high risk of developing allergic disease. Avoidance of the major risk factors could reduce or prevent the development of allergic disease in most infants. For the avoidance measures to work, the first two years of life are critical and the measures must be applied before the development of allergy in the neonate.

These recommendations do not apply to babies already having food allergy. The major risk factors for the development of allergy in infancy are:

· Strong family history of allergic disease (both parents or one parent plus one sibling with allergy) may significantly increase the risk for allergy in the newborn.

· Exclusive breast feeding is desirable for least four months compared with feeding with intact cow’s milk. Many studies show that breast milk decreases the incidence of allergic eczema compared to cow’s milk.

Partially hydrolysed whey formula, which is hypoallergenic (reduced ability to stimulate and induce an IgE-mediated immune response) formula is preferred as supplementary feed for babies. The hypoallergenic formula is the preferred feed for the baby when the mother is unable to breastfeed. There is no role for soy-based formula in allergy prevention.

· Solid foods should not be introduced before ages four to six months. Early introduction of solid foods increases the risk, but delayed introduction of solid foods beyond six months provides no advantage.

· Exposure as a child or infant to high levels of house dust-mite allergens (allergens are substances, usually proteins, that cause allergy) increases risk to respiratory allergies. Anti-dust mite barrier encasing of mattress and pillows may provided some protection. Regular use of anti-dust mite sprays to reduce the level of dust mite allergens in the home environment is desirable. These procedures are specifically important for Malaysia, which has high dust-mite allergens levels in the home environment.

· Exposure to some indoor mammalian pets (e.g. cat) increases risk in the baby. Keep the pets strictly outside the house away from the baby’s play area and bedroom or remove the pets until the baby is older.

· No smoking should be permitted in the house during pregnancy and lactation. Passive exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy or infancy increases the risk for allergy significantly in early life.

· Passive exposures to cigarette smoke during pregnancy or infancy increases the risk for allergy significantly in early life.

· Exposure to environmental pollution as a child or infant (e.g. high levels of car exhaust fumes or fumes from gas heaters) increases the risk.

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation The earliest possible nutritional influence on allergy in the infant is the diet of the pregnant mother.

It is well known that food allergens in the diet of the mother can appear in the circulation and be transmitted to the amniotic fluid during pregnancy or breast milk during lactation. The foetus in late pregnancy (when the immune system is immature but functional) can be sensitised (develop the capacity to react to allergens on subsequent exposure) to the food allergens present in the amniotic fluid. In families with a genetic predisposition, there is a good chance that the newborn, when re-exposed to the provoking foods (e.g. cow’s milk), will react with symptoms (e.g. diarrhoea, vomiting, colic, eczema) to the sensitising foods. In families without a genetic allergic-background, the sensitised baby will not react to the provoking allergens.

Prior to 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics had recommended avoidance of peanuts, cow’s milk, soy milk, fish and eggs during pregnancy and lactation to reduce the risk for allergy to these foods in the baby.



However, in January 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics reversed their position on maternal avoidance of specific foods. The current position, based on evidence from large number of research studies, does not support maternal avoidance of allergenic foods during pregnancy or lactation. Moreover, maternal avoidance of specific nutrition during pregnancy may not be conducive for the healthy growth of the baby.

Low levels of maternal dietary food-allergens present in breast milk may cause allergic symptoms (e.g. eczema) in exclusively breastfed babies. Our studies in Malaysia show that exclusively breastfed babies with skin symptoms are mostly reactive to cow’s milk and egg white proteins. However, in some babies, additional allergens such as wheat, peanuts, soy bean, sesame seeds, banana, chicken meat, garlic and many others were also contributory to the development of allergic eczema. In all these babies, there was a family history of allergy.

The continued breastfeeding and maternal avoidance of the provoking foods is normally advised when the infant is less than four to six months. In older infants, breast milk can be stopped and the weaning diet should exclude the provoking foods.

In all such cases it is essential to identify the provoking food allergens through blood allergy tests on the baby based on the maternal diet. Any delay in seeking allergy services may potentially lead to adverse clinical outcome due to unacceptable diagnostic oversight.

Food allergy in Malaysian children Investigations into food allergy in Malaysia were pioneered by Dr N. Iyngkaran and his colleagues, including myself, in the mid-70s at the then University Hospital.

At that time, chronic diarrhoea in infants was a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In a series of experimental studies, it was demonstrated that cow’s milk was the primary cause of the chronic gastroenteritis diarrhoea in young infants. These infants suffered from symptoms of vomiting, diarrhoea and colic. Moreover, the associated lactose intolerance was recognised as secondary to the intestinal mucosal damage inflicted by the cow’s milk allergic reaction. This was an important contribution because for the first time the relationship between cow’s milk allergy, intestinal mucosal damage, lactose intolerance and clinical symptoms became clear. The group went on to demonstrate that many other proteins, such as egg protein and soy protein, which caused allergic reactions in young infants and children, were also responsible for marked intestinal mucosal aberrations.

One interesting study performed by the group showed that about 40% of infants with cow’s milk allergy developed allergic reaction to soy milk even if the baby had not been exposed to soy products previously. Only in recent years has it become clear that cow’s milk casein shares common allergens with soy protein and hence infants sensitised to casein will eventually react to soy if it is used as a substitute in infants allergic to cow’s milk.

Adverse reactions to cow’s milk are frequently seen in the first year of life in infants on bottle feed. Cow’s milk allergy is present in 3-5% of infants and 85% will outgrow the milk allergy by the third year.

However, in some children, particularly those with high titres of IgE antibody and severe symptoms, the milk allergy will persist longer, usually into adolescence and sometimes into adulthood.

The symptoms of cow’s milk allergy usually starts in the first weeks of life. The main symptoms of cow’s milk allergy are:

gastrointestinal in about half the infants; skin eczema in two-third of infants; and respiratory problems in about quarter of infants. In many infants, all three symptoms may be present.

Young children with eczema are at a higher risk of developing food allergy, particularly those infants and toddlers whose skin disease is more severe or recalcitrant to therapy. Generally, the younger the patient and the more severe the eczema, the more likely food allergy is a causative factor.

Parental perceptions with regards to food allergy in their children are notoriously inaccurate. Parents often have very strongly held beliefs that certain foods cause a variety of symptoms, many of which are inconsistent with an immune-mediated process.

In fact, when the diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy are performed in an established laboratory using approved allergy tests, only about 40% of patients’ histories of food-induced reactions can be verified. Thus it is very important to conduct an allergy test at a centre managed by professionals.

Food allergy in children is most likely to manifest between one and three years. In Malaysian infants less than one year old, the foods causing allergy in order of importance are cow’s milk, soy milk, chicken eggs and fish.

On the other hand, in children more than two years old, the foods causing allergy in order of importance are shellfish (prawns/shrimp), cow’s milk, chicken eggs, wheat, soy and peanuts. In 70% of children, chicken egg allergy lasts until the twelfth year.

Peanut allergy tends to be long-lasting, with 20% infants resolving by the ninth year, but in the rest, it may be life-long. Avoidance of the provoking foods is essential for success in treating food allergy.

The only objective method of measuring IgE antibodies is to use technology that is calibrated against established reference preparations. The CAP RAST blood test is scientifically considered superior to any other allergy test for the detection of the provoking allergen in the infant’s diet. It is a quantitative test with each run incorporating controls which are standardised against WHO standards. The blood allergy test is not affected by medications, including anti-histamines.

Elimination of the food allergen is the only proven effective therapy at this time. Strict dietary avoidance is generally recommended once a food allergy is diagnosed.

If the mother is breastfeeding, she must also strictly eliminate the causal foods from her diet. Clinical tolerance can develop over time, more commonly to some foods (milk, egg, soy, wheat) over others (peanut, tree nuts, seafood). In time, the baby will outgrow the allergy brought on by the provoking food (e.g. cow’s milk or chicken eggs) and show no food-specific IgE-antibody. Only then can the problematic food be successfully reintroduced into the diet of the child without worrying about the development of adverse reactions. In rare cases, some food (e.g. chicken egg, shrimp/prawn, bird’s nest soup) may cause severe systemic life-threatening reaction (called anaphylaxis) within minutes of ingestion of the provoking food. The symptoms appear rapidly, usually with minutes of exposure to the provoking food. The symptoms include: (1) skin or mucosal involvement (e.g. generalised hives or swelling of oral mucosa), (2) respiratory compromise (e.g. dyspnea, wheeze), (3) persistent gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g. vomiting), (4) hypotension (e.g. hypotonia, fainting).

Epinephrine, which is dispensed in special syringes called Epipen, is clearly the treatment of choice for anaphylaxis. Following epinephrine treatment, the individual should be rushed to the hospital.

Certainly, having signs of hypotension (even without accompanying symptoms) is an indication for epinephrine administration, particularly in a child with known food allergy. It is important to identify the provoking foods through food allergy tests if any one has had this experience of anaphylaxis since such episodes tend to reappear in reactive individuals. Avoiding the trigger resolves the problem.

Food allergy in infancy predicts respiratory allergy in mid-childhood.

Food allergy in infants less than one year old predicts the development of respiratory allergy and asthma in children five to eight years old.

There are ways for physicians to increase the predictive value of the allergy test. One factor is the level of specific IgE antibody in serum, which can affect the presence, persistence and severity of the allergic disease. Thus the risk of developing asthma increases with increasing specific antibody levels.

A sensitised infant with specific IgE antibody to food allergens (e.g. cow’s milk, chicken egg) and/or aeroallergens (e.g. cat dander, dust mite) summing up to a total of 0.5 kilounits per litre (kU/L) has 20% risk of developing persistent wheezing/asthma, but if the summed antibody level is greater than 10 kU/L in early life, the predictive value for wheezing/asthma increases to 90% at five years of age.

This definitely calls for quantification of IgE antibody levels if allergy is suspected in the young baby for assessing the severity of the disease. Allergy is not a simple yes or no phenomenon of allergy tests. Recent studies show that prediction and diagnosis of allergy needs to be based on several factors, including quantitative of IgE antibody levels.

Conclusion

In Malaysia, food allergies in infancy are increasing rapidly. In young infants, the most common foods causing allergies are cow’s milk and chicken eggs. The next commonest are soy milk, wheat, fish and peanuts.

In older children, shellfish (e.g. shrimp/prawns, crab), in addition to the other foods noted in infancy, is most important.

The majority of children with food allergy in the first year of life will develop respiratory allergy to house dust mites during mid-childhood. Thus, early measures to prevent the risk for development of allergy are desirable.

For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

Finance the Islamic way at small US bank

DETROIT: Big financial institutions have been battered by mortgages gone bad. But a tiny Michigan bank is getting attention in the industry by turning a profit on loans without even charging interest.

Its specialty: financial products that comply with Islamic law.

That means no collecting interest, no short selling and no contracts that are considered exceedingly risky.

It also rules out some of the activity that got Western finance in trouble - subprime mortgages, credit default swaps and the like.

"When you look at the economic crisis we're in, if you were to follow Islamic or Sharia financing, you couldn't have this crisis,'' said John Sickler, corporate director for the bank, University Islamic Financial Corp. in Ann Arbor.

Islamic finance operations aren't prohibited from making a profit.


University Bank President and Chairman Stephen Lange Ranzini, standing, talks with banking consultant Nabeel Shahid at the bank in Ann Arbor, Michigan - AP

Far from it.

Instead, banks that comply with Islamic law, or Sharia, earn money from fees that are part of the cost of the loan, some paid up front and some over time.

University Islamic Financial has two types of financing, one called a marked-up installment sale and the other a lease-to-purchase sale.

Fees in both cases are comparable to interest payments in traditional loans, bank officials say.

For example: A seller who bought a house for $100,000 could sell it for $120,000 or even $300,000, provided the buyer agrees it's a fair deal.

The home could be sold on an installment plan negotiated by buyer and seller.

The bank is a subsidiary of Michigan-based University Bank, and its leaders say they have talked recently with executives from two national banks hoping to learn more about the business.

Islamic law says money cannot grow by itself, the way it does with compounding interest.

Trade is acceptable as long as the equal amounts of money are traded or two different things are swapped with a fairly negotiated price.

So a dime for an apple would be considered "halal,'' or religiously acceptable, while one apple for two apples would be "harem,'' or unacceptable.

Even at University, not everyone is on board.

Some customers have closed their accounts when they learned it was engaging in Islamic finance.

Some employees who objected to the move quit.

The bank also stopped having a Christmas party and no longer serves alcohol at after-hours events.

The Michigan bank focuses on contracts that clearly spell out the risk and reward between lender and borrower.

University Islamic Financial says it's the nation's first to offer Sharia-compliant, federally insured deposits.

Islamic banking is more common overseas, but some U.S. banks and credit card companies are exploring the idea of branching out into Sharia products to reach out to the growing Muslim population.

So Islamic banking is only expected to increase in coming years.

Already, Citigroup offers Sharia products and services to clients overseas, and Visa says it has worked with banks around the world to offer Islamic-compliant products.

The conventional banking system could learn a lot from the idea, said Jawad Ali, a finance lawyer based in Dubai and London who specializes in structuring Sharia-compliant deals.

"We haven't made as much money as the conventional banks because we can't, for example, sell what we don't own,'' he said.

"We have to own it before we sell it. We may have missed out on gains in good times ... but we haven't suffered any losses.''

Of course, there's no guarantee that banks will find immunity in Islamic finance from a severe global downturn.

"I am not doing banking on Mars,'' said Afaq Khan, the head of Saadiq, the Islamic banking arm of Standard Chartered Bank, based in London.

"If real economic activity slows down significantly, the Islamic banking industry will also be affected.''

A Sharia-compliant mortgage is like rent-to-own: There is no note, or mortgage, but typically part of each month's payment is held toward the ultimate purchase.

The property is titled to an individual trust, or limited liability corporation. Deutsche Bank estimates total assets in the Islamic finance market at $1 trillion - a tiny fraction of global financial assets, but the bank said in a recent report that the sector been growing at a clip of 15 to 20 percent per year.

Most big international banks already have Islamic banking arms, and a November report by Moody's Investors Service shows that Islamic banks have been fairly resilient to the global economic downturn.

The U.S. banking industry has not embraced Sharia banking.

Wachovia, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase said they have not adopted Sharia practices and declined to comment about what they may do in the future.

"As far as the future, we are always looking for opportunities to better serve our customers, but our specific strategy is proprietary,'' Wells Fargo spokeswoman Lisa Westermann said.

University Bank President Stephen Ranzini declined to name the U.S. banks that University Islamic has talked to.

But he said his bank soon plans to offer its services such as residential lending to other banks and credit unions nationwide.

Sharia banking is an idea "that is long overdue in this country,'' said Amal Berry-Brown, vice president at Comerica, a Dallas regional bank that has talked with Ranzini.

"At the same time, there really is quite a bit of work to be done.''

Comerica has a strong customer base around Detroit, home to the nation's most concentrated Muslim population.

One issue: There is "a big variance'' within Sharia law about exactly which financial practices are considered good and bad, said Mustafa Gultekin, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For University Islamic, the niche appears to be paying off.

Ranzini said he expects it to generate more than 25 percent of the overall bank's revenue this year, up from about 20 percent last year. - AP

Consumers confused about the new TNB billing system

MANY people have been complaining of high electricity bills ever since Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) introduced a new method of tabulating power usage recently.

“My bill has increased tremendously ever since the new tariff was introduced. All my children are students and need to use the computer and printer which increases the bill,” housewife K. Shanti said.

Shanti, 49, does not understand why the tariff for consumers who exceed 400kWh usage need to pay a 30sen per kWh charge.

“The rate is too high for a home user. Why hasn’t the TNB reduced the cost of electricity after the oil prices have decreased?” she asked.

According to a TNB spokesman, as the sole electricity provider in the country, the company was very concerned about the continuous misperception the public have about electricity tariffs and oil prices.

The spokesman said that TNB noted that many still assumed that the electricity tariff was raised due to a hike in the cost of petrol and diesel in June last year.


Huge jump: Shanti’s bill has increased tremendously since the new tariffs were introduced.

“This is not true. Instead, the increase in tariff is in line with the government decision to review the gas price to the power sector,” he said.

“The new tariff structure that took effect from July 1 last year was meant to allow the TNB to offset the increase in gas and coal prices,” he said.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor had earlier said that tariff could not be reduced for now although the price of oil has come down.

Shaziman had also said that in peninsular Malaysia, electricity was generated mostly by using gas and coal, and not oil.

“The three main sources to generate electricity in the peninsula is 60% gas, 30% coal and 6% to 7% hydro power while the rest from other sources,” the TNB spokesman said.

He said that TNB would maintain the lifeline tariff rate for household consumers whose monthly electricity consumption was up to 200kWh.

“For other users, we encourage them to consume electricity wisely such as by using energy efficient appliances,” the spokesman said.

Lee Kum Yun also complained about being confused with the tariff billing system.

“The tariff clearly indicates that the rates are per month. However, the TNB men who come and check the meter usually come several days after the month-long duration,” Lee said.

“So when they come after that one month, shouldn’t they recount the extra power used with the first tariff below 400kWh per month?” he asked?

According to the TNB spokesman, an estimate reading will be made in cases where the TNB meter reader is unable to read the meter due to unforeseen circumstances.

He said the TNB meter reader would provide an estimate reading of the bill.

However, the TNB will only give estimate readings of up to three consecutive months. In the fourth month, should the meter reader face a similar problem, the TNB will make arrangements with the house owner to allow its representative to take an actual reading of the meter.

The TNB spokesman said house owners should check out the company’s website – www.tnb.com.my– for more details on tariff charges or energy saving tips.

Luxury is her game

By KEE HUA CHEE


Homegrown fashionista Angie Kok owns the franchise of four of France’s leading labels: Givenchy, Lanvin, Lancel and Kookai.


Homegrown fashionista Angie Kok owns the franchise of four of France’s leading labels: Givenchy, Lanvin, Lancel and Kookai.

LOW-KEY, unassuming but eminently stylish as befits her business, Angie Kok is ironically better known in Paris than in Kuala Lumpur.

In the City of Lights where she goes up to six times a year, she is feted by fashion conglomerates like LVMH, Richemont and the media.


Angie Kok: ‘You have to seize opportunities when they appear, as sometimes they appear only once!’
“I attend all the shows, launches and events when in Paris. In KL, I prefer to stay out of the limelight,” explains the bubbly and feisty Angie Kok.

Kok is a familiar figure on the Paris fashion circuit and knows many power brokers and fashionistas. “I speak French but not very well but everyone in the industry speaks English. Yes, I have valuable contacts in Paris since all my four brands – Lanvin, Givenchy, Lancel and Kookai – are French.”

Growing up in Malacca, Kok dreamed of owning boutiques and wearing beautiful dresses. “I was already very business-minded at 15 and decided to run a fashion shop so that I got to wear nice clothes while making money!”

At 21, she graduated as a quantity surveyor as her carpenter father decided fashion was too fickle a career. But as fate would have it, she met Dave Kok in the early 1970s while doing a land survey for him. They married soon after, and have two grown-up daughters and a 15-year-old son.

“Veronica is a Psychology graduate and is now helping me run my business while Joyce will graduate in Finance & Commerce next year. Shaun is still schooling.”

Lady Luck smiled on her as her husband helped her realise her dream. “We visited all the luxury boutiques in Paris, London, Milan and New York. I began to acquire a taste for nice things, not just clothes but accessories, jewels, works of art and a certain lifestyle. I was determined to open my boutique as I was so inspired and wanted to introduce all the nice things to KL.”

Paris mesmerised her the most, hence the name of her first boutique La Bon (The Beautiful) which remains the name of her holding company.

“My first La Bon boutique was at City Square. Twenty years ago, City Square was KL’s foremost mall, with a huge Christian Dior boutique. All my boutiques today are in Starhill. La Bon was a multi-brand boutique then and I carried labels like Etinnelle, Faust, Surabaya and Tara Jarmon.”

Some dresses sold for RM2,000 upwards, a vast sum two decades ago and a respectable amount now.

“People paid. I was at the right place at the right time as RM1,000 dresses were no longer considered shocking since Malaysians were getting richer. Now, there are so many labels but back then there were few and far between.”

Ten years ago, she was approached by the mighty, all-encompassing LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group to carry Givenchy. Her Givenchy Gentlemen boutique opened at Starhill in Bukit Bintang, catering to businessmen looking for business suits, tuxedos, briefcases and shoes. Givenchy was the start of her French franchises.

Kok decided to push a younger line and gunned for Kookai. “I love Kookai and had been wearing Kookai long before I got the franchise. Their casual, party and office apparel are fun and easy to wear while their good pricing allows anyone to own many pieces.”

Kok got the rights four years ago and set up Kookai stores in Suria KLCC and Mid Valley Megamall. Kookai is so hot it even got Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel to design! Lagerfeld actually appeared in advertisements for Kookai. In the adverts, Lagerfeld pronounced, “All these girls in Kookai, it’s not good. I don’t say that for myself but for the other couturiers.” The 1993 ad caused a sensation and went on to become a case study for marketing gurus for its tongue-in-cheek effectiveness, wit and parody.

In 2006, Kok was granted the franchise for Lanvin Men while the women’s line, RTW, was introduced last February.

“Personally, I feel men are better buyers. The men who buy Givenchy and Lanvin spend a lot compared to women. They have the purchasing power but maintain a low profile as men’s suits change very little.”

Her latest baby is Lancel, the handbag brand. “When I went to Paris’ Champs Élysées, I saw so many Lancel signboards I lost count. I was very impressed and discovered why it’s such a hit season after season. First, this French label is designed and made entirely in France which is a big deal as the French Government is very particular about their coveted ‘Made in France’ label.

“Lancel sells from RM900 to RM3,000 on average, with the most expensive around RM5,000. The best-selling ‘Elsa’ monogram is priced at RM2,280. And all made in France!”

As luck would have it, selling Lancel has become easier. Marc Lelandais, Lancel’s president, has signed superstar actress Isabelle Adjani as ambassador. Not only did he sweet-talk her into promoting the “le French légèreté” (lightness of weight) of Lancel, he declared it was an artistic partnership with a soul supplement as Adjani would also design a Lancel bag.

You don’t get this far in life without holding to a philosophy. For Kok, it is about seeing the positive.

“You have to seize opportunities when they appear, as sometimes they appear only once! You have to take risks but do so only when you are personally convinced about the products you will be selling. Many French and Italian brands have contacted me to carry their line but I turned them down as I didn’t feel convinced or could not give my 100% commitment.

“I come up with my own capital with minimal borrowings which is quite risky but then failure has never crossed my mind. Once I take on a new label, I automatically do my maths and think of what to do with profits. I am a positive person.”

Kok keeps a low profile and stays above the social nit-picking. “It’s not necessary to be famous to succeed. I am very result-oriented. I have nothing to prove as my brands speak for themselves,” she says.

HOI, Bayar LAH

Malaysia Government not paying petrol subsidies

By ROYCE CHEAH


KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has stopped paying petrol subsidies since the beginning of this month due to lower global oil prices, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

“The savings on petrol subsidies next year is expected to be more than RM10bil if oil prices remain stable,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Shahrir said that at US$65 (RM235) per barrel the Government would not be paying subsidies and that the focus now would be on deciding whether to set a floor price or figuring out a way for the Government to get some income from the sale of petrol.

“Even with petrol retailing at RM2 per litre, we are not paying any subsidy. We have actually arrived at a time when the price can return to RM1.92,” he said.

“In that context, we hope to be able to set a policy to address this when the National Eco­nomic Council meets next. There must be a decision made on what the floor price should be.”

Shahrir said that for six months from September 2001 to February 2002 the Govern­ment had collected taxes from the retail sale of petrol but had stopped that practice since then.

“Earlier announcements of how much the subsidies cost us, even as recent as 2005 or 2006, always included how much we had foregone in terms of taxes.

“We have stopped doing this, however, and just focused on how much subsidy we are paying,” Shahrir said, adding that the Government was now enjoying some revenue due to the difference in the ex-refinery price and the price oil companies sold petrol to station operators.

He added that the revenue being taken now was a form of tax that could max out at 60 sen per litre.

Shahrir also released information on the amount of fuel subsidies paid so far, which have amounted to RM15.57bil as at the end of October.

Fuel subsidies last year cost the Government RM16.18bil.

The fuel subsidies in October amounted to RM610mil, compared with RM2.99bil in May when oil prices peaked at over US$120 (RM432) per barrel.

Dr M: Why must Malay leaders say sorry?

Eddy said: Given that UMNO is still the largest political party in the nation and which is still in power, how the heck you compared the influential of the words coming out from the mouth of its leader and some daring song from a youngster and
some stupidity acts from a group of fanatic people. Not Apple to Apple, dude. It's like durian to langsat comparison.

And on top of that, Najib doing quite well in being a role model (or he just try to cover his own as*es) and demonstrated that leaders do apologized (Well, although most of them did and that seems like the only thing they are very good at).

---

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned why Malay leaders were apologising over a remark deemed as racist by an Umno leader.

He said non-Malay leaders never apologised when similar racist remarks were made by members of their community.

The former prime minister said in his blog (www.chedet.com) the Malays were so scared of being labelled racist that they even wrote in Malay papers that the Malays were not racists.

He was referring to the apology by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made on behalf of Umno over a racist statement by Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

He cited the case of the Hindu Right Action Front, he said so many allegations including Islamist extremism and ethnic cleansing were hurled against the Malays.

However, no one demanded apologies from leaders of the non-Malay community.

He also cited the case of Wee Meng Chee who made parody of the Negaraku and poking fun at the call for prayers but there was no apology from leaders of the community over Wee’s actions.

Study: Malaysian women shop to relieve stress

Eddy said: A new paradox paradigm, shopping ignites stress or stress causes shopping madness. Let see what'll happen when they receive their card statement. LOL


By : Irdiani Mohd Salleh

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian women believe in "retail therapy", with most of them spending an average of RM180 each on shopping in a month.

Almost three-quarters of women surveyed recently said shopping was therapeutic and a stress-reliever.

These were the findings of a survey conducted by global market research company Synovate on more than 1,000 Malaysian women recently.

The respondents, aged between 15 and 64, were from all income levels. They were asked on their retail preferences and spending habits for clothing, accessories, skin care products and cosmetics as well as electronic gadgets.

Synovate Malaysia managing director Steve Murphy said 74 per cent admitted that shopping was therapeutic and helped to relieve stress.

However, most are not extravagant as they only spent 17 per cent of their monthly income on shopping.

"We found that Malaysian women hold back most of their income for savings, which is timely in the current economic situation."

Financial independence of Malaysian women was also reflected in the survey results.

Close to half of the respondents said they could afford to pay for what they wanted without having to ask for money from their partners or husbands.

"We also made comparisons across the region and found that women in Hong Kong (87 per cent) were the most financially independent, followed by China (75 per cent) and Singapore (74 per cent)."

The majority of Malaysian women also felt that they were on equal terms with their partners or husbands.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) acknowledged that they had an equal say in the purchase of big-ticket items such as property and cars.

Women in Hong Kong (87 per cent) and China (76 per cent), however, were found to have a bigger say.

The survey also revealed that Malaysian women did not compromise on quality when buying goods and services.

A total of 640 women agreed that they would pay extra for quality.

"The quality factor was confirmed again as we asked each respondent what would make them loyal to a retailer apart from lower prices."

The survey also showed that most Malaysian women cared for the environment and 490 of the respondents were willing to pay more to buy environmental-friendly products.

Eddy said: Thinking of saving the planet by blindly buying environmental-friendly goods? Think thrice. Some so called friendly products don't necessarily being produced in environmental-friendly method.

Cop arrested over alleged rape of 17yr-old

Eddy said: DAMN THE GUILTY!




Cop arrested over alleged rape of 17yr-old
By RASHITHA A. HAMID


PETALING JAYA: A policemen was arrested after he allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl who was brought into the police station for interrogation.

The girl was allegedly forced to perform oral sex on the policeman, in his 20s, and was raped at a police station in Selangor on June 18.

It is learnt that the girl was on a motorcycle with her boyfriend at 5am when the policeman, who was on patrol, stopped them. As the boyfriend did not have a licence, the policeman and his colleague hauled the couple to the police station for questioning.

Sources said the boyfriend and the girl were questioned in different rooms.

“During questioning, the girl was forced to undress and the policeman threatened to throw her boyfriend in jail for 20 years if she refused to obey him,” said Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar.

Fearing for her boyfriend’s safety, the girl agreed to perform oral sex on him before being raped.

After half an hour, the two were released but the girl did not reveal the incident to her boyfriend or family members.

However, two days later she confided in her cousin who promptly told her parents.

Accompanied by family members, the girl lodged a police report at the Putra Heights police station on Sunday.

Khalid said that the policeman, who is married with a child, has been detained and remanded.

“He has been suspended pending investigation,” he added.

Tee Keat not impressed with KTMB

Eddy said: Ain't this part of your daily job? Where had you been in the past? Hibernating or what?


KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat has been monitoring KTM Bhd's service and he is not impressed.

“I am aware of delays and the lack of electric trains to meet the increasing needs of the public.

“I am also monitoring the schedule of the railway services,” he told a press conference after opening Kojadi’s annual general meeting at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

Ong said he had received many complaints from the public on KTMB's services, especially the long wait for trains.

“One of the reasons is the lack of electric trains or ‘rolling stock’. We have ordered the rolling stock but we can't expect to get it immediately.

“We will rent rolling stock in the meantime,” he added.

Ong also said train stations, especially those in rural areas, and rail coaches were old and dilapidated.

“A full audit will be conducted on how to improve the train services,” he said.

He said the ministry would also appoint an independent entity to conduct a safety audit on the country's railway network.

“I hope several initiatives that I have outlined on how to improve train services will bear fruit as soon as possible,” he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Ong said Kojadi was not for MCA members only.

“Kojadi is one of the cooperatives which is concerned with development of the future generation and has outlined various plans to assist students,” he said.

Interest rates on local car loans may be lowered

KUALA LUMPUR: Interest rates on car loans, especially for non-national cars, are expected to go up next month while those for national cars such as Proton and Perodua will be reduced slightly.

Banking and automotive sources said banks are expected to fix the interest rates at 3.5 per cent.

It is understood that Maybank, AmBank, CIMB and Public Bank top officials met last week on the move.

Together, these four banks control 70 per cent of the car hire-purchase segment of the banking business.

Sources said the move was aimed at standardising the interest rates, which were currently in favour of the non-national cars.

Banks are now offering loans with an interest rate of 2.5 per cent for non-national cars and between 3.8 per cent and four per cent for national cars, namely Proton and Perodua models.

Several car distributors and dealers told the New Straits Times that they have heard the news, but had yet to be notified by the banks.

A car dealer handling both national and non-national cars said the interest rates on the national cars, the bulk of which were market-entry level cars affordable among the low-income earners, were higher because "the risk of loan defaulters are higher".

"Banks are basing it on statistics.

"They see that the non-performing loans are higher for loans given for national cars," the source said.

Meanwhile, Association of Finance Companies of Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek said the interest rates for car loans depended on a number of factors such as the tenure of the loans, type of car being financed and the customer's risk profile.

He said the prevailing low interest rates for car loans were partly due to the subsidy by car dealers to sell more cars.

In light of the rising long-term rates, banks would need to review their present interest rates for car loans.

Tay said the decision to raise interest rates on car loans, if any, would be made by the individual institutions.

"As of now, the association is not aware of any decision by any financial institutions raising their interest rates on car loans next week."

One non-national car dealer said the higher rates would have an impact on sales, but the effect would be across the board.

Tiger Woods goes 19 holes to win the US Open

SAN DIEGO: With a throbbing knee and a pounding heart, Tiger Woods made one last improbable escape and won the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate on Monday, his 14th career major and maybe the most amazing of them all.

One shot behind after a collapse no one saw coming, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force sudden death at Torrey Pines against a journeyman with a creaky back who simply wouldn't go away.

But that one extra hole was enough to doom Mediate, trying to become the oldest U.S. Open champion at 45 years, 6 months.

He put his tee shot in the bunker at No. 7, knocked his approach off a cart path and against the bleachers, chipped some 18 feet past the hole and missed the par putt.

On the verge of one of golf's greatest upsets, Mediate instead became another victim.

"Great fight,'' Woods told him as they embraced on the seventh green.

Woods, who delivered so many spectacular moments over four days along the Pacific Ocean bluffs, needed only a two-putt par at the end to win the U.S. Open for the third time, and the first since it last was held on a public course at Bethpage Black in 2002.

It capped a remarkable week for the world's No. 1 player, who had not played since April 15 surgery on his left knee and looked as though every step was a burden.

But the knee held up for 91 holes, and the payoff was worth the pain, even if doctors had warned him that he risked further injury by playing the Open.

"I'm glad I'm done,'' Woods said. "I really don't feel like playing anymore. It's sore.''

Woods joins Jack Nicklaus as the only players to capture the career Grand Slam three times over.

Mediate's odyssey began two weeks ago when he had to survive a sudden-death playoff simply to qualify for this U.S. Open.

Even more unlikely was going toe-to-toe with Woods _ whom Mediate referred to as a "monster'' _ and nearly slaying him.

He had a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win, but it slid by on the left.

Mediate struggled to keep his emotions after taking bogey on the first extra hole, but he walked off Torrey Pines with 12,000 new friends who crammed both sides of every fairway for a playoff that was tighter than anyone imagined.

"Obviously, I would have loved to win,'' he said. "I don't know what else to say. They wanted a show, they got one.''

Did they ever.

From the opening tee shot Thursday in a light fog known as "June Gloom,'' this U.S. Open simply shined.

"This is probably the greatest tournament I've ever had,'' Woods said.

It was filled with some of his greatest moments - a 30 on the back nine on Friday to get into the mix, two eagles from a combined 100 feet and a chip-in birdie on Saturday to take the lead, and one of the biggest putts of his career when he holed a 12-foot birdie with the final stroke of regulation to force the playoff.

Then came a playoff in which he built a three-shot lead with eight holes to play, only to find himself trailing four holes later.

Next up for Woods? Even he isn't sure after hobbling around on a knee that clearly hasn't healed.

"I'm going to shut it down for a while,'' Woods said. He answered "maybe'' when asked if he thought he made it worse by playing the Open, and he said he didn't know if he would play the British Open at Royal Birkdale next month.

He nearly shut down too early. Woods seized control when Mediate bogeyed consecutive holes around the turn, but Woods bogeyed the next two from the bunker and Mediate tied him by nearly driving the 267-yard 14th hole and chipping to a foot for birdie.

Then the playoff took yet another surprising turn on the 15th.

Woods hit his tee shot so far to the right that it landed in a fairway bunker along the adjoining ninth fairway.

But he carved a sand shot around the trees to 12 feet, one of those defining shots that turns a tournament in his favor.

But that didn't happen.

Mediate dropped in a 25-foot birdie putt, while Woods missed and spent the next three holes in a desperate chase to make up ground.

Woods finally caught him on the last hole, reaching the green in two and two-putting from 45 feet.

"I never quit. I never quit,'' Mediate said.

"I've been beaten down a few times and came back, and I got what I wanted. I got a chance to beat the best player in the world. And I came up just a touch short.''

Woods moved within four of the record 18 professional majors that Nicklaus won. And it was the second time he has won a U.S. PGA Tour event and a U.S. Open on the same course - Pebble Beach (2000) and Torrey Pines.

He won the Buick Invitational by a tournament-record eight shots in January, but that was before he had surgery to clean out cartilage in his left knee, before he wasn't sure if pain would shoot down his leg with every swing.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this victory? Woods had four three-putts and four double bogeys, and he still won.

It was his 65th career victory, passing Ben Hogan for third all-time, raised his playoff record to 15-2 and made it 14-of-14 in majors when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round.

He now has won every major in a playoff except for the British Open.

Just like the last U.S. Open playoff seven years ago, both players arrived wearing the same outfit _ khaki trousers and a white shirt at Southern Hills, black slacks and a red shirt with a black vest at Torrey Pines.

That's typical for Woods, and when he saw Mediate, Woods removed his vest.

It felt like a prize fight the way both players marched through a wall of fans and onto the first tee, posing before the silver U.S. Open trophy. And it finished that way, too.

"It was just unreal,'' Woods said. "It was back and forth, back and forth. And 90 holes wasn't enough.'' - AP

HK superstars Tony Leung and Carina Lau to tie the knot

By SETO KIT YAN

PETALING JAYA: Finally, long-time Hong Kong showbiz couple Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Carina Lau Ka Ling are tying the knot in a big way.

News has leaked that the couple’s wedding will cost them well over HK10mil (RM4.4mil) reports China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau.

This is said to include a 38-table wedding dinner (RM456,000), a 38-table wine party (RM45,600), a HK50,000 per night (RM25,000) presidential suite for a week, wedding cakes and invites worth HK200,000 (RM82,000), a dowry of HK1mil (RM410,000), a diamond ring worth HK2mil (RM850,000) and a honeymoon in Europe costing HK300,000 (RM123,000).

Some 10 years ago, Leung was reportedly advised by fortune-tellers not to tie the knot or have any children before the age of 46 for fear of poor health and bad luck. Leung turns 46 on June 27.


Settling down: Carina Lau and Tony Leung waving during a photocall of the film ‘Ashes of Time-Redux’ at the 61st Cannes Film Festival. — AFP

Lau, believed to be four months pregnant, will turn 43 in December.

The pair have been together since 1989 and their wedding is expected to be held at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong sometime in October.

Lau makes millions in product endorsements every year and is still a stunning beauty. Just last year, it was reported that Lau was being courted by Taiwanese tycoons Terry Gou and Jack Sun. Before she hooked up with Leung, Lau was engaged to Hong Kong tycoon Hui Chun Hung.

Then rumours abounded that the long-time couple secretly married after Lau was named best actress at China’s Golden Rooster Awards last year while a fellow actor revealed that they had already applied for a marriage licence.

The Suzhou-born beauty showed off her wedding ring to the Chinese media during a visit to China in April and announced her marriage to Cannes best actor Leung.

The happy couple were pictured together while on a working holiday to France for the 61st Cannes Film Festival late last month.

Leung is currently busy with promotional activities for John Woo’s war epic Red Cliff and is set to play Bruce Lee’s martial arts master Ip Man in Hong Kong art house director Wong Kar-Wai’s biopic.

CIMB to lower auto loans repayments

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd is offering to restructure its customers’ auto loans via a customised programme that lowers monthly repayments.

The Customised Auto Repayment Schedule (CARS) programme is aimed at helping customers to refinance and restructure their existing car loans, in a move to help them cope with the recent fuel price hike.

“This programme applies to auto loans of one year or more and its objective is to reduce a vehicle owner’s monthly instalment by between 20% and 30% and free up additional disposable income and assist car owners in trying to manage the financial effects of the recent rise in fuel cost,” CIMB’s head of retail banking Peter England said in a statement last Friday.

New fuel subsidy scheme to be announced Wednesday

Eddy said: You know what I gonna do? Pump petrol first thing in the Tue morning and last thing in the Tue night. And maybe again in the Wed morning, :p

New fuel subsidy scheme to be announced Wednesday
BY IZATUN SHARI


KUALA LUMPUR: A new fuel subsidy scheme will be announced Wednesday and take immediate effect to prevent speculations.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the anti-inflation committee will decide Tuesday on the various proposals by the Cabinet.

He was speaking to reporters Monday after chairing the national small-and-medium enterprise development council at Bank Negara here.

Abdullah was asked to confirm an announcement made by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad that a new fuel subsidy scheme would most probably implemented in August.

Abdullah said: “He said might be. As far as the subsidy management scheme is concerned, the final decision will be made on Wednesday.

“It was to be decided last Friday but it so happened that many of the ministers (involved) were attending conferences overseas. We wanted all to be present to make the decision.”

Asked whether the announcement would take effect immediately, he said: “We want it to be effective immediately. If not, there will be a lot of speculation.”

He did not disclose what the new subsidy scheme would involve.

Earlier at Parliament, Shahrir said any change in the subsidy scheme might result in a rise in petrol and diesel prices.

He said the scheme might be changed in August as stated by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop earlier.

"It will happen. Petrol will increase," he said at the lobby of Dewan Negara on Monday. However, he said Malaysians would still enjoy subsidies but it would be given based on need and not on usage currently.